“Shhhh!” I tell her. “Don’t make it a big deal, okay?”
“Omg!” she says quieter, but with the same amount of excitement.
I laugh at how happy she is for me. It’s kind of sweet.
“What did he say?” Katie asks.
I shrug. “Just that he liked me and wanted me to be his girlfriend. And then we…kissed in his car when he dropped me off.”
Harper is practically jumping in excitement, while Katie is pretty quiet, just taking it all in.
Just then, Eli walks over to us and puts his arm around me. The butterflies are instant, and I wonder how long I’ll get those for. I don’t want them to ever go away.
“Ladies.” He greets the girls with a nod and then looks down at me. “Morning.”
I look up at him and bite my lip, trying to rein in my smile. “Morning,” I say back quietly.
“Can I walk you to your next class?”
I look over to Katie and Harper.
“Go, go…” Harper says, shooing us away. “Ugh, y’all are such a hot couple, I can’t stand it.”
Eli looks down at me in question.
I shoot him an innocent ‘oops’ look. “I might have told them.”
He shakes his head a little and laughs. “Well, good, I don’t have to pretend then.”
He leans down and kisses me. It’s soft and quick, but sweet.
“Oh, you guys make me sick. I want a boyfriend,” Harper pouts.
I laugh as we turn to walk away.
Walking down the hallway, it feels like more eyes are on us than normal. I feel instantly on guard, but don’t say anything, and I don’t even think Eli realizes.
When we get closer to my classroom, he stops and leans against the wall, pulling me into a hug. “Can we hang out later after school today?”
I stare up at him. “I wish we could, but I’m supposed to go shopping with Simone to help her pick out a birthday dress, plus Katie and Harper are supposed to come too.”
He gives me a little pouting face. “Fine, but I get you tomorrow then.”
“Deal,” I say, grinning.
He drops his hands to the sides of my ribs and then kisses me.
“You’re gonna be late for class,” I whisper against his lips.
“It’ll be worth it,” he tells me.
I shake my head, laughing.“Don’t get in trouble for me, go.”
I back up, and he gives me one last kiss before walking away, turning to look back at me one more time before he’s fully out of sight. I try to collect myself and tone down the giddiness before walking into class.
The second I’m inside the room, I can feel everyone staring at me. It instantly doesn’t feel good, and I wonder what I did. I try to ignore them and walk to my seat when a girl calls out to me.
“Hey…Lydia, right?”
